Political Notes: Cape chamber urges social media lobbying for infrastructure

Geoff Spillane

Monday

May 13, 2019 at 6:44 PMMay 13, 2019 at 6:44 PM

HYANNIS — It’s Infrastructure Week in the United States, and the Cape Cod Chamber of Commerce wants people to talk about it on social media.

Infrastructure Week, according to its website, is a nonprofit organization led by a “diverse group of nonpartisan organizations that brings together businesses, workers, elected leaders and everyday citizens to advocate for the renewal of America’s roads, bridges, rail, ports, airports, water and sewer systems, energy grid, and more.”

In an email appeal last week, the chamber called for growing “the echo chamber demanding action on this important issue.” It requested use of social media to comment about the need for an infrastructure bill by using the hashtag #InfrastructureNow and tagging the chamber — @CapeCodChamber — on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

The chamber used a tweet with a photo of work being done on the Bourne Bridge as a sample posting.

President Trump recently met with Democratic leaders to discuss a $2 trillion infrastructure upgrade plan, striking an agreement to meet in three weeks to discuss funding.

“The next three weeks are critical,” the chamber email said. “If the president and Congress can reach a deal on financing, we can do something historic to improve the Cape’s roads, bridges and transit systems.”

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State Rep. Timothy Whelan, R-Brewster, took a mini-tour of solar energy installations Monday, and he did not have to travel far.

The Solar Energy Business Association of New England brought Whelan to a business (Stage Stop candy), residential and community installations in Dennis and Brewster to speak with property owners and solar installers.

“It was a great opportunity to talk about the environmental and economic benefits of solar,” Whelan said.

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Will “Mayor Pete” be the first presidential candidate to visit the Cape and Islands while on the 2020 campaign trail?

The Provincetown Banner reported last week that Democrat Pete Buttigieg, the mayor of South Bend, Indiana, could be heading there this summer. The weekly newspaper quoted a local business owner who recently attended a Buttigieg fundraiser in Boston as saying, “Mayor Pete’s campaign has committed to coming to Provincetown sometime in July.”

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Republican James "Jay" McMahon III was soundly defeated in the Massachusetts attorney general's race by incumbent Maura Healey just six months ago, but the Bourne lawyer appears to be gearing up for another run in 2022.

“The day after the election last November was the first day I started thinking about the next campaign,” he wrote in an email to supporters Sunday. “Since then, I have had so many compelling reasons to run for Attorney General again. The ultra-Liberals can be defeated by God-fearing Patriots, but it is going to take a huge effort. And there is no better time to start than right now!”

McMahon has scheduled his first campaign organizational meeting for 10 a.m. Saturday at “a hall” at 15 Wareham St. in Middleboro.

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The Dennis Democratic Town Committee will hold a wine-tasting event from 5 to 7 p.m. Saturday at the Scargo Manor Bed and Breakfast, 909 Main St.

Tickets are $35, a portion of which will benefit the organization’s Dennis-Yarmouth Scholarship Fund. RSVP by Friday to dlprusak@comcast.net.

Stephen Kinzer, senior fellow at the Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs at Brown University and a world affairs columnist for The Boston Globe, will speak at 7 p.m. Thursday at Falmouth Public Library.

Hosted by the Upper Cape Democratic Coalition, Kinzer will discuss the topic of “Cape Cod, America and the World: How the Bipartisan Foreign Policy Elite in Washington Is Failing Us.”

The event is open to the public. For additional information, contact attymeb@gmail.com.

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Here’s what some of the region’s elected officials were tweeting about this week:

State Rep. Timothy Whelan, R-Brewster, (@TRWhelan) on May 11:

“Great morning at Brooks Park in Harwich joining my friend and colleague @skpeake for the Alzheimer’s Family Support Center/David Birtwell Memorial walk. Many great volunteers and participants. #CapeCod #EndAlz .”

Barnstable County Commissioner Ronald Beaty Jr. (@ronbeatyjr) on May 8: